How to support women’s tennis on Giving Tuesday — Must-click women’s tennis links
By Joey Dillon
The IX: Tennis Tuesday with Joey Dillon, Nov. 29, 2022
Happy Tennis Tuesday, everyone! How do we only have four TTs left of 2022!? Mind-boggling, to be honest. While today is your regular, shmegular Tuesday, it’s also Giving Tuesday. To support our team and the coverage we give, please subscribe to The IX. It’s because of awesome people like you who help support us sharing all of these incredible women’s sports and the athletes.
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With that being said, there were a few organizations and/or fundraisers I wanted to highlight on this day.
Sloane Stephens Foundation
SSF is a 501(c)3 charity originally aimed at providing support through tennis programming with the Compton Unified School District. They offer instruction with 23 schools, impacting thousands of students. Last year, they had their first high-school graduates and first-ever player to make the high-school playoffs. They’ve since expanded into the South Florida region and have had a national impact both on and off the court through the SSF High Performance Camp and Doc & Glo Scholarship, respectively.
What does your donation contribute towards?
- $25 provides 4 cans of tennis balls
- $100 provides 4 hours of on-court tennis for 6 students
- $250 provides a weekly stipend for a summer school tutor
- $500 provides 1 student the opportunity to travel to a regional tournament
- $1,000 provides a 12-week leadership development program for 5 students
The Body Serve
James Rogers and Jonathan Newman are co-hosts of The Body Serve, a tennis podcast they’ve been hosting since 2015. What make TBS different compared to the more rigid podcasts is that they’re completely independent. No attachments lets them discuss the good, the bad and the ugly. I appreciate their candor on topics that don’t just focus within the lines of the game. Many podcasts “shut up and dribble,” but they aren’t afraid to discuss the politics within tennis and beyond, or throw a shady bone at a player, commentator, coach, etc. Their GoFundMe isn’t a requirement, but donations allow them to upgrade their equipment, travel as media to tournaments and continue to be a fun light in the Tennis Twitter community.
Supporting Gayal Pitts Black‘s Recovery
It’s one thing to be the parent of a world-class junior tennis player, but Gayal Pitts Black is fortunate enough to have three. Gayal is the mother to 2000 Junior Orange Bowl champion Nicole Pitts, former ITF No. 3 Tornado Alicia Black and current WTA No. 388 Hurricane Tyra Black. Unfortunately, this past August, Gayal was involved in a serious car accident after being struck by an uninsured driver. Her injuries included over 20 fractures that resulted in 15 surgeries, as well as suffering from pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Gayal has been a force in the junior tennis community for decades and constantly lends her expertise to tennis parents. A GoFundMe was created to help support Gayal and her family while she continues to rehab with hopes to be home for the holidays.
WTA Charities – ACEing Cancer
Since partnering with Hologic, the WTA has increasingly worked on sharing the importance of annual women’s health screenings via WTA Charities. Among their initiatives is ACEing Cancer, where donations will go towards a cancer research grant dedicated to the memory of former WTA player, Jeanne Dubin — the younger sister of Chris Evert, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2020. Through aces hit at all WTA 500 and 1000 events this year, as well as at the WTA Finals, over $80,000 was donated to help fund a cure for women’s cancers.
If you can donate to any of these causes, great! If not, please share these links and/or tweets and spread the word.
Now, onto links!
This Week in Women’s Tennis
Diana Shnaider isn’t a new name if you’ve been reading Tennis Tuesdays, but the NC State freshman is on the verge of cracking the Top 100 after capturing her first WTA 125 title at the Montevideo Open. She defeated another player from the NCAA system, Leolia Jeanjean, to win the singles title. One does have to wonder if Shnaider will ever play a point on court for the Wolfpack. The doubles final also featured four collegiate alums with Ingrid Gamarra Martins (South Carolina) and Luisa Stefani (Pepperdine) defeating Quinn Gleason (Notre Dame) and Elixane Lechemia (South Carolina).
Alex Eala is no longer the future — she’s now. The rising star is Vogue Philippines‘ cover girl for their November issue and discusses her journey and beyond to becoming her country’s greatest champion at only 17.
Iga Swiatek knows how much weight her voice has and she leant her support to victims of sexual abuse following the allegations — and eventual resignation of the Polish Tennis Federation’s president:
Kelly Thomson became the 13th active female chair umpire to receive a Gold Badge certification and is one of 35 to currently hold officiating’s highest status.
Need a doubles duo to watch out for in 2023? Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls are hoping their coming out party at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals won’t be a flash in the pan.
Desirae Krawczyk is coming off of another Top 20 season and the doubles star reflects on the impact her time at Arizona State has had on her career.
Bianca Andreescu is reuniting with Christophe Lambert, a former Tennis Canada coach who was recently Tennis New Zealand’s High Performance Director.
Coco Gauff was the guest of honor at this weekend’s Miami Dolphins game and even led the stadium cheer:
The WTA compiled a list of the quite talented group of players that bid farewell in 2022.
Serena Williams still takes to the practice court on occasion, taking some reps in with Venus and Urszula Radwanska:
The World Cup is obviously taking place and some WTA players discuss who could make a run for the pitch one day.
Taylor Townsend seems to be set to return to Melbourne for the Australian Open main draw via the USTA’s wildcard race after Caty McNally and Madison Brengle will get direct acceptance:
Margarita Gasparyan is among the names coming back to the WTA in 2023 following injury and maternity leave. The Russian — now Margarita Betova — last played at Roland Garros in 2021.
Tweet of the Week
During the US Open, Wilson hosted a family-style dinner with a great discussion led by Billie Jean King. A (sometimes shady) Serena Williams, Linda Fruhvirtova and Clervie Ngounoue were among the players at the table:
| Mondays: Soccer |
| By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
| Tuesdays: Tennis |
| By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer |
| Wednesdays: Basketball |
| By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The Next |
| Thursdays: Golf |
| By: Addie Parker, @addie_parker, The IX |
| Fridays: Hockey |
| By: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden |
| Saturdays: Gymnastics |
| By: Lela Moore, @runlelarun, Freelance Writer |
